Applicants to the New York Bar who began their Juris Doctor program after August 1, 2016 or who begin their Master of Laws (LL.M.) program after August 1, 2018 are required to fulfill a skills competency and professional values requirement as detailed in Section 520.18 of the New York Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law. An applicant for admission to the New York Bar may satisfy the skills competency requirement by completing one of five pathways contained in Rule 520.18.

Pathway 1 allows an applicant to satisfy this requirement by submitting a certification from the applicant’s law school confirming that (1) the law school has developed a plan identifying and incorporating into its curriculum the skills and professional values that, in the school’s judgment, are required for its graduates’ basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession; and (2) the applicant has acquired sufficient competency in those skills and sufficient familiarity with those values.

In order to be certified under Pathway 1 as possessing the skills and professional values required for basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession, a Northeastern University School of Law student must:

receive a grade of Pass, Honors, or High Honors in the required first year course Legal Skills in Social Context: Social Justice or its equivalent;

receive a grade of Pass, Honors, or High Honors in one course of two or more credits which is certified by the School of Law as satisfying the Experiential Education Requirement set forth in American Bar Association Standard 303(a)(3);

receive a grade of Pass, Honors, or High Honors in Professional Responsibility; and

successfully complete the Cooperative Work requirement for graduation[1].

Graduates who did not begin their Juris Doctor program at Northeastern University School of Law, including graduates of the LL.M. program, must, in lieu of requirements (1) and (2) above, receive a grade of Pass, Honors, or High Honors in one or more courses comprising six or more credits that are certified by the School of Law as satisfying the Experiential Education Requirement set forth in American Bar Association Standard 303(a)(3), and satisfy requirements (3) and (4) above.

[1]The Northeastern University School of Law Juris Doctor program requires successful completion of four cooperative (“co-op”) work quarters except for transfer students in the class of 2016 and later, who are required to complete three co-op quarters following matriculation. Co-ops entail 11 weeks of full-time work in a legal or law-related job (a minimum of 35 hours per week). Student work is evaluated by a supervising attorney or otherwise authorized person and co-op evaluations are included in the student’s official academic transcript. The Northeastern University School of Law Master of Laws program requires successful completion of one co-op work quarter or one alternative experiential component.